CurtainUp
CurtainUp

The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features, Annotated Listings
www.curtainup.com


HOME PAGE

SITE GUIDE

SEARCH

ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP

REVIEWS

FEATURES

NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings


LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway

NYC Restaurants

BOOKS and CDs

OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
Philadelphia
Elsewhere

QUOTES

TKTS

PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS

LETTERS TO EDITOR

FILM

LINKS

MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
Writing for Us

A CurtainUp Los Angeles Review
Fortinbras,


Kings don't make mistakes, They re-assess policies. — Fortinbras

Lee Blessing's 1992 political satire is even more timely today and may well be the funniest show in town. It begins where Shakespeare's Hamlet ended, with the entrance of young Prince Fortinbras (Greg Baglia), whose idiom is strictly 20th century.

The inhabitants of Elsinore, living and dead, are still playing old tapes and those who know Hamlet will get a special kick out of this play.

On the simpler slapstick level, Fortinbras works just fine and prompted a colleague to suggest it as part of a repertory with Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead— a wonderful idea not just for English majors!

Director Maria Cominis has the cajones to mount a feareless and hysterical production for Theatre Neo without losing the moments of bewildered normalcy from Fortinbras and Osric. As Fortinbras, now Hamlet's heir, struggles to live a normal life of lust and ambition, he's blocked at every turn by the ghosts and survivors of Shakespeare's characters and their repetitive agendas.

Ophelia has the biggest transition from the painfully frustrated maiden to a salacious succubus who has convinced Fortinbras a woman doesn't reach her sexual peak until she's dead. With tango-esque leaps to wrap herself around Fortinbras, Dagney Kerr redeems Ophelia from her watery grave big time.

Baglia is the perfect Fortinbras, a likeable action hero who wishes he'd gone to Wittenberg College like Hamlet and is dumbfounded by the kingdom he finds himself ruling, complete with an out-of-control invasion and the omnipresent ghosts of the last administration. The excellent cast range from Stuart McLean as a statuesque Polonius still frutrated by the Court's brush-off to the Captain, a small part distinguished by the quirkiness of Donaco Smyth. Osric is the only character with an arc. His afterlife strips him of toadying and allows him to speak his mind. The pretty actress who plays him with sardonic flair is A. J. Raymond, real-life wife of Fortinbras.

Tina Zarro has designed the excellent costumes and, though not credited, the pale make-up and red eyes of the ghosts should be mentioned. Lee Blessing, whose career I've followed since the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference in 1983, has a body of diverse work/ Fortinbras is by far his funniest.

FORTINBRAS
Playwright: Lee Blessing
Director: Maria Cominis
Cast: Brian Turley (Hamlet), A. K. Raymond (Osric), Blair Hickey (Horatio), Stuart McLean (English Ambassador, Polonius), Greg Baglia (Fortinbras), Donaco Smyth (Captain), Michael Miranda (Marcellus), Damon Standifer (Barnardo), Christine Krench (First Maiden), Tarina Pouncy (Second Maiden), Dagney Kerr (Ophelia), James Knudsen (Claudius), Laura Julian (Gertrude), Zach Dulli (Laertes)
Set Design: Greg Baglia
Costume Design: Tina Zarro
Running Time: Two hours, one intermission
Running Dates: Throuh May 3, 2008, with possible extension Place: Theatre Neo, Secret Rose Theatre, 11246 Magnolia, North Hollywood, Reservations: (323) 769-5858.
Reviewed by Laura Hitchcock April 27.
REVIEW FEEDBACK
Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
  • I agree with the review
  • I disagree with the review
  • The review made me eager to see the show
Click on the address link E-mail: esommer@curtainup.com
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V):

Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email.

a list of all book reviews, see our,
VALVESGate valvePRESSURE VALVESGlobe valveCHECK VALVES
Google
high pressure valve
manual valvevalvesvalve company motorized valveball valvepressure valve buy valvebutterfly valve Check valvereturn valve
Web    
www.curtainup.com
Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide
Leonard Maltin's 2008 Movie Guide


amazon
Sweeney Todd DVD

broadwaynewyork.com


The Broadway Theatre Archive>


amazon



©Copyright 2008, Elyse Sommer.
Information from this site may not be reproduced in print or online without specific permission from esommer@curtainup.com